As Israeli forces seize control of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Mélanie Joly, is warning the offensive could have dire consequences in an already “catastrophic” situation.
“An invasion of Rafah, which would endanger the lives of women and children and innocent civilians, is completely unacceptable,” Joly said on her way into a cabinet meeting Tuesday.
“We need a ceasefire now. We need to make sure that hostages be released. We need to make sure humanitarian aid goes into Gaza. The violence must stop. Hamas must lay down its weapons.”
Rafah is the main gateway for humanitarian aid into southern Gaza.
More than a million people are crammed into the city, most of whom have been displaced by the conflict, which reached its seven-month mark this week.
“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic,” Joly said.
Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, announced on Monday it had agreed to an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal, but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands.
“We’ve been following the negotiations, which are very fluid. We’ve been in contact with many officials on the Israeli side, on the Qatari side, on the Egyptian side. We hope the negotiations are fruitful,” Joly said.
On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against an incursion into Rafah.
“The president doesn’t want to see operations in Rafah that put at greater risk the more than a million people that are seeking refuge there,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, while another 250 were taken hostage.
While the violence rages on, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating by the day. The head of the United Nations World Food Program warned on Sunday that northern Gaza is experiencing a “full-blown famine.”
Canada’s International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said an Israeli offensive in the southern city will only lead to more misery.
“There’s over 1.5 million with nowhere else to go. They’re trapped there. No access to humanitarian aid. This will cause a lot of civilian casualties,” he said.
Hussen said the Canadian government had advised against this operation and is “very disappointed” with the latest developments.
“We were hoping that the operation would not happen,” Hussen said.
— with files from The Associated Press